Anyone can make jewelry, you don't have to go to school. For the cleverest designs, you just have to think outside the box!

July 26, 2014

Katie Oskin of Kater's Acres came to visit yesterday, as well as to film a NEW video on making petal canes from Skinner blend (polymer clay). In the fun and the mayhem, I FORGOT to get out the camera, so did my best to capture a picture of us from the video. CHEEZE, sometimes it's hard to get one that way where we both look great. So anyway....this is us at the beginning of the video! LOL

Here is a photo of Parker, Katie's little mascot who travels with her EVERYWHERE, and some of the cute creations made from the technique taught in yesterday's video.

Katie loves to make micro canes, where, as she says, "you don't need five pounds of clay!"

This is a Skinner blend bull's eye cane ready to be cut into four equal pieces. When cutting a cane, always stand and do it looking straight down on it, for best success, Katie says....emphatically!

Yes, ma'am!

More highlights from Katie Day....this photo is a tiny bit blurry but you get the point! ANOTHER bull's eye can from Katie, this one she made for Javi and I to play with, later!

That's gonna be spectacular, if we can just follow instructions properly!

Here are some completed pieces, ready to be baked in cornstarch, which provides a lot of protection for delicately formed flowers and beads, too!

And here is a single flower....the white 'stuff' is just a bit of cornstarch:

OOOOH PRETTY!

Katie also made me a micro cane (I believe she calls this her glowing leaf? You can get tutorials for it at her website!) and a matching pendant to finish into a necklace.

And some more she left for me and Javi to fight over.....LOL! No, we won't fight over them, but Javi DOES love purple!

That's what she did with the scrap clay after making the canes for the flowers!

WELL....I suppose by now you're saying, hey, you can post that video for us any time now!

Okay, I will. First, go grab a sandwich, a bag of pretzels or a cuppa joe...and maybe something to take notes, because my videos are virtual class tutorials. They are free, content filled, so yeah, you're gonna want to tune in and stay with us. You would if you paid for a class, right?

So this one is ON THE HOUSE:

ENJOY! We hope Katie will be able to make it back in September for another visit and video.

You know, we all need a hobby....and I guess my hobby is polymer clay. It resides among what I do for a living, selecting and vending rich designer-vintage style components. I don't sell polymer clay but I DO sell a few tools you will find handy.

The Sculpey Ball Tool Kit is a MUST-HAVE and it's so inexpensive, it's ridiculous. You'll see all the ways it can be used in the video:

I love learning to work with clay, and so when Christi Friesen visited us last May for the workshop, we decided to collaborate on a special clay group that was devoted to jewelry making in the Bohemian vintage style. It's called Bohemian Vibe! and you can come and join us here:

Christi herself will be taking the lead with her own projects for the group in October of this year, then January, April, and July of next year.

Next May we will be meeting again (Christi will join us for a bit via SKYPE) for more clay, Bohemian Vibe projects and responsible repurposing. Katie will be teaching some of the classes; we have room for 35 and there is a lot of interest! If YOU are interested, come join us at Bohemian Vibe! at Facebook now and either observe or participate, as you like. The contracts for the event will come out in February, and will be held at Das Dutch Haus, a lovely country inn, in Columbiana, Ohio.

Meantime, Javi and I will be carrying on here in the shop playing with clay---check out her workspace:

She's always got a new video on her IPAD, trying to learn a new technique... she LOVES polymer clay. Here is something she recently made from stamped clay:

And here's a whole plateful of beads and bits I gotta get busy with!

IF YOU play with clay, you need to understand that clay is clay but clay POPS when you add bits and pieces and filigree from B'sue Boutiques

And when your order is 40.00 or more, you know what? You can ASK for free stuff, a little bag of this and that from my own stash that I'm sharing as long as supplies last. If you ask for it, I can usually come up with something for you! just say GIMME FREE STUFF in the customer comments box at the website checkout (not in the coupon box) and our shippers will send you some!

July 12, 2014

You know me, I love to play with paint, color, patina and metal. It's kind of hey, this is what I do.

I've been doing it for a good 25 years. I remember throwing tiny watch parts and glitter in resin applied to the top of texture paints on heavy watercolor paper twenty years ago. I remember sore fingers and hands as I tried to make sense of Fimo. And don't even get me STARTED with Friendly Plastic. My biggest sadness is that I sold all my pieces and have nothing to show you.

I guess I may have to find some new-fangled way to reprise something, one day.

My biggest and best new love is polymer clay....well, old love that keeps getting ressurrected.

Wonky clay beads and worm-like spirals. HEY, now. DON'T YOU LAUGH at those worm-like spirals....they have formed many a focal on successful work.

I rarely make a piece that is entirely all one type of media, or all one type of clay work. In the piece above we have distressed rusty black patina metal from B'sue Boutiques we have bits and pieces buried in resin, we have bits of chain and repurposed old Czech beads....and yeah. We have those spiral beads made of poly clay.

When I invited my pal, Christi Friesen, Polymer Clay Princess Extraordinaire, to come to Ohio and preach the Christi Gospel of Clay to my pals from the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group, I did it for my heart....my love of this medium. I also did it for my pals, because I knew some of them loved it, too.

But CHEEZE LOUISE....it was a leap of faith, because nobody but a big box wants to be selling polymer clay, and I don't. WHY? Well the stuff has a shelf life. The big boxes are always selling it to ditch the old stuff and as a loss leader. It's weighty to ship and we have low flat fee shipping at B'sue Boutiques

You really can't retail the stuff in this environment and you have to because you don't make anything much on it, everything taken into account, anyway! AND....shipping it in hot weather can make it go hard, like, pre-baked. Sometimes.

SO...why in the HEY am I doing POLY CLAY?

I told you. I love the stuff. And let's get real. As far as organic style polymer clay is concerned, it does not get better than Christi Friesen. She is an amazing instructor, and look at her, she's a nut.

SO AM I. Nuts are drawn to each other, nuts are kindly and fun, especially creative nuts. I wish all instructors were this sort of creative nut, if they were there would be no ego, only learning, only nurturing, only mass explosions of more creativity.

As Christi demonstrated her techniques at the workshop, it was as if I intuitively KNEW what she would do next. Not saying I could do it so well as she did....but I GOT it. My brain goes the same way.

But if not, the upshot is simple. After Christi left, nobody wanted the party to be over. EVER. So we turned the event group secret board, where we planned the first event....into a very special PROJECT board. It is a collaboration between Christi Friesen and myself, and it's called BOHEMIAN VIBE. Christi's involvement will last at least a year and she will be producing four special projects to lead and instruct the group. She also plans to come back and visit us in May 2016.

In May 2015 we are instructing ourselves, the party goes on! and my hope is that we have this party EVERY YEAR til we are all toothless and senile and can't do it anymore. AND MAY THAT BE A VERY LONG TIME FROM NOW.

ANYWAY! Our first challenge was to make a face, which brings me to the whole purpose of this blog post, which is already turning out to be waaay longer than my usual blog post but....I digress....

THE PROCESS:

Okay, so *I* was actually the rare genius who came up with the idea, yay troops, let's make a face out of clay! Christi was still on the road and I had to come up with something (she is the midst of a year long world tour) so in my innate polymer clay wisdom I came up with a face.

And they are darling little faces/heads....but I wanted something elegant and Art Nouveau-ish. At Bohemian Vibe we are combining old world, vintage looks, metal bits, found items, fiber and all that----with clay! So yeah, I wanted something 'pretty'.

WELL! All I can say is hey, I have a ton of respect now for a sculptor who makes something pretty out of clay. I'm not even going to show you the hideous mess I worked on for hours.

Reminds me of the words from Elton John's YOUR SONG: "If I were a sculptor.....but then again, no.." Let's make than no a NO.

Doing a wonderful face takes determination and practice...and patience. I wasn't gifted with a whole lot of patience, sorry. So...here I am, guys, I GOT NOTHING.

And since now I had been the brilliant ditz to suggest such as thing as MAKE A FACE...EGAD!!! I had to perform....so! I whipped out a vintage French stamping I had put aside, and I made a ding-dang MOLD from it.

Then the PROCESS began.

Out of the mold, I cut the clay piece back with my handy dandy exacto knife til it it became cameo-like.

Some of the details weren't quite exact, like the hair. So I make little rolled snakes and made her hair. AMAZEMENT! She DIDN'T come out looking like Medusa!

Lemme show ya...

I made the lady in white clay, and I used my fave vintage heart cooky cutter for the background. I stamped the heart with some fave stamps, baked them separately, then when they were cool I put Liquid Sculpey as a glue between them and rebaked.

Then I got out my inks, paints and Gilder's paste and went after it, distressing, adding color, distressing some more. I even put glitter in her hair. Next time I might not do that.

Then I glazed her with Sculpey Satin. Later in the day, I set her little curls with tiny sparkling crystals.

And the next day.....she came to life as a necklace:

Okay.....so NOW I HAVE SOMETHING.

It's not bad for a first shot, in fact, it's pretty sweet. I like this necklace! I feel encouraged.....the first thing I did, didn't work out so well, but HEY! I CAN work with a mold and tweak it, and make it go sorta-kinda the way I want.

Next time I would do the color on the pieces before attaching them. Not sure I can bake them that way, but it would have been better to do them separately. Not to worry, there are glues that will work. I'd probably use E, I have before and no prob.

And I would be more careful with the distressing as I got some scratches here and there, which I would rather not have. Sure, it's distressed and supposed to have that old vintage look, so it's okay in this case. Still, I'd rather avoid that next time.

One last thing, I'd make sure the pupil of her eye was facing a bit more forward. It's okay this time since it's small, but the fish eye look just doesn't cut it for a pretty lady.

Hmmmm......wonder what my next brilliant idea will be for a BOHEMIAN VIBE group challenge? Christi doesn't take the reigns til October.

Oh well, not the first time I've pulled a rabbit out of my hat. The FACE rabbit was a big one!

One of our spoon blanks layered with Raspberry Relique and Gold Glitz!

TWO etched brass pieces topped with ICE RESIN! I did one last time Kate came and taught me to etch, and the key I did in the video last week.

SAY!

Did you SEE that video yet? It's like a FREE 35 minute class to tell you all about how to etch on brass safely. Kate Mulligan of Mulligan Stew Jewelry worked out all the kinks in the process and we did the video together last Friday.

I'm positive it's our best video yet!

Here is a link for you:

That video is a hard one to follow!

I had plans to share how I made this cuff with Iced Enamels and to clear up a few things regarding its use in this weeks video....but then the brass started to arrive:

Thirty five pounds showed up with our Iced Enamels order coming in today at noon.....so!

I figured we'd better get sorting and get that Iced Enamel on the website right away.

February 08, 2014

My new quest is to try and find new ways to use the stampings we've always carried....the motto being, ten ways to use ONE stamping. It's a personal challenge offered to me by a trusted colleague who knows her stuff...

And I think it will be good for ALL of us, especially when I begin showing you what I discover. It will get your OWN ideas going!

That post, and a photo shared with us by Ingrid Anderson of lilisgems at Etsy, as well as the challenge commentary given me by my wise colleague inspired a flurry of activity here yesterday....and a new video:

Here is Ingrid's photo (also shared in the video):

As you can see, the motif of Ingrid's necklace is one side of the cuff flat.

This is the raw brass cuff flat from the previous video done last week, but now rolled by using my fingers against a hard table....no ball bat, no barbell, no bracelet mandrel. (The video demonstrates it). One is raw, no color, one is tea stain rose with a bit of Patina Gilder's Paste and then some Espresso Alcohol Ink over top and buffed out....layers of color.

Here is what I eventually made of the colored one:

The flowers are wired on and then the wire covered around the rim with pink sari ribbon (a fun little trick I often use when attachment pieces have a good bit of dimension, as these do!)

But I did mention cutting the stamping to get different looks, or get more projects from one piece! Well, this is my version of the sort of necklace that Ingrid made, also using our heavy etched rolo chain

I went over the brass ox plated metal with a mix of white and patina colored Gilder's Paste, thinned out a bit with mineral spirits to become a simple paint-wash. Then I buffed it back.

You can see the two different ways I cut out the tops. Also, I bent the second one and drilled the sides, as it will become a bracelet top. I also drilled the bottom of the necklace so that I could hang some beads. Next time I do this, I will do more of a worked neckline with more going on.

But that's not all!

Here it is in a couple more finishes....two projects from ONE stamping. You just need the shears, a file and some ultra-fine 0000 (quadruple ought) steel wool, to take care of any rough edges or excess brass.

Here's one more idea....I cut back the darker stamping a bit more to get a heart shaped plaque:

I hope you will find a bit of time to read Dr. Brassy's blog post and consider our video where I show you how to cut this out and also how to roll the cuff finding!

It is SO easy!

Be sure to visit our website at B'sue Boutiques where we specialize in the vintage style stampings.....and let your imagination go! See what YOU can come up with!

February 06, 2014

Michelle Mach is a B'sue Boutiques Design Team Member. But I must tell you: that's just a little hat among the many she wears!

Michelle has been published over 100 times in our favorite beading and jewelry making magazines..... and has many rich creative experiences to write about in her blog: Beads and Books

I'm happy to report on her results with a small package of raw brass components I recently sent her as a design challenge:

Here is what she received:

Michelle likes to take a package like this, and see how many projects she can get out of the mix! SO....for starters....this pretty necklace:

She hole-punched the little leaf findings so that they might become connectors...and then strung them along with some pearls from her own stash, to create the neckline.

The filigree is from our website, and the patina is done with the Weathered Copper set of inks from Ranger/Vintaj. Michelle says that changing up the *order* in which you use the colors can yield amazingly different results.

Here is that same filigree in our luscious Chocolate Kiss brass! Distress it and add that same set of patinas....or just the teal-colored one....and WOW!

January 22, 2014

This lovely bracelet was etched by Kate Mulligan of Mulligan Stew. She had attended a class on etching and this piece was the end product of the class.

When Kate recently visited me, we decided to spend our time together working out the bumps in the etching process---for me. She'd actually worked them out for herself, for the most part....so going over them took the fear out of working with Ferric Chloride Solution. I sallied forth!

Here are some of the pieces we inked....

and then....ETCHED!

I have only to decide what to do with them....color, type of media for the color, what sort of jewelry I want them to become. Since I like how they came out, and they are my first efforts, they're sort of special to me. I'm being a little fussy about the next step, the color.

It's a simple thing to apply color with a torch (I did torch the Bella Vita piece on the Victorian luggage tag stamping from B'sue Boutiques ) but then so many options! I like the idea of applying layers of Gilder's Paste, thinned out just a tad bit with mineral spirits or paint thinner. OR, some of the vintage inks enhanced with some dark alcohol inks. Even acrylics, applied, distressed, and then a light coat of resin over.....that would be SO deep and luminous.

What do you need to get started etching?

There are a number of ways to do it, and different acids you can use, but we liked the FERRIC CHLORIDE method. A quick Google search will get you a merchant; I'm told that Radio Shack carries it, too.

apply the ink with rubber stamps or from the markers, free hand (I did both on my pieces)

neutralizer: baking soda and water

containers: PLASTIC ONLY....one for the etchant solution and one for the neutralizer solution.....at least TWO INCHES deep

ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES:

rubber stamps

nail polish remover

extra fine steel wool

old toothbrush

rubber gloves! You'd better glove up!

old cotton rags

paper towels

popsicle sticks

soap and water

There is nothing really hard about the process, but it can be messy once you get to the end of the process, which is neutralizing the neutralizing solution (say THAT three times, fast) or any neutralizing solution you have decided to dispose of. Whoops! she forgot her gloves, that's a rare thing, she never forgets them! Just don't forget yours! It's probably okay at this stage in the game but just go ahead and get the gloves on, it's better that way:

We neutralized some solution outside on the rocks behind the shop and it flowed over onto the ground. It's pretty safe as we used a ton of baking soda in it....but what an unholy mess.

Maybe do this next time in a larger container with plastic under it to catch any possible overflow. Then, once neutral, dispose of it a disposable bottle. Once neutralized to this extent...it should be okay to put in the trash. NEVER put it down your drain.

There are several opinions on disposing of the neutralized solution. Some say it's okay to throw out so long as it's super neutralized and totally contained, others say must be thrown out as hazardous waste. Some say the liquid can be thrown out and the sludge as hazardous waste.

The solution used to etch the brass can be re-used many times, too. You can get a funnel and put it back into the original container, so long as you didn't get any baking soda in it!

There's some great info on it in Thomas Mann's new book, DEMYSTIFYING THE JEWELERS SAW. Honestly, I just got this book and I love it, you should get one:

Many metals are safe for etching, but one you NEVER want to try is aluminum, it will make a toxic gas. Brass and copper are excellent and low-cost.

Kate will be writing out a whole 'thesis' LOL on the subject of etching and it will be housed at B'sue Boutiques website in the next month----meantime Kimberlee Turner, aka Dr. Brassy Steamington has this humorous and detailed! post to offer:

Linzi explains that when she first began, she'd seen a television program about a girl in the UK (Linzi is in the UK, too) who had a market stall in London. Linzi found her process compelling, especially how the woman would take apart and re-work any of her designs that hadn't sold in a certain amount of time.

She thought, I could do that!

Devouring jewelry-making books, she taught herself many of the basics long before the internet was popular and free videos at You Tube were available. Beads became an obsession.....and that is how *I*, B'sue, found Linzi...or she found me....at Ebay, back in my Ebay days.

Linzi advises: Start small, buy the basics you need and can afford, watch tutorials and read as many books as you can. Facebook groups are a big help! Share ideas, let your imagination go wild, keep a notebook or Pinterest board for inspiration. Have fun and ENJOY! Embrace imperfection, and from your first tentative attempts will eventually come great work. Dare to dream!

This is the first assemblage piece Marcia Tuzzolino ever attempted, after watching one of my You Tube videos!

This, of course, was not Marcia's first piece of jewelry....but it WAS her first piece of jewelry made in a new style, a style she had not tried before.

When *she* began, she spent a lot of time at the local bead store, exploring the varieties and colors and educating herself as to types of beads. She strung them first, then she made basic earrings. She read a lot and took a lot of classes, as this fueled her creative fire.

To begin with mixed media, she took a class from a friend who showed her how to use Gilder's Paste and alcohol inks to color metals. Success was quick, she sold the cuff she made right off her wrist!

Though many are just starting, others are jewelry artists stuck in a rut, needing to get jump-started. Marcia advises, when that happens, go back to the basics. Go to your collective library of photos and tutorials and have fun browsing through them. Remember your initial joy at selling your first piece, or making something you never thought you could make. Visit with other artists in groups like The B'sue Boutiques Creative Group at Facebook

You'll find a lot of support and new ideas in a group like ours!

Speaking to being in a rut, Michelle Mach, who has had her projects published in print many times, says that sooner or later every designer feels uninspired. She says that when she's feeling creative, she has fun making very simple earrings with a few beads and charms. Once she gets started, the creative floodgates open and she is able to move on to more challenging pieces.

Here is a simple pair of earrings that Michelle made on such a day:

Cindy Cima Edwards says that when she first tried to tackle jewelry design, she bought the basic tools, some beads, beading wire and a few other basic items. She read the magazines and books, especially the beginner books. It took time to get rolling with it, but eventually she thought she had something she'd submit for publication.

Here is that piece,named Anastasia. It was published in BEAD TRENDS in September 2010:

Francesca Watson mentioned an experience as a metalwork jewelry maker, a little farther along in her journey:

"The first time I tried to do a complicated bezel wrap by myself, I completely screwed it up. I had done really well in the class, which made me a little cocky. I had a hard time accepting that I needed more practice with the basic skills before I was going to be ready to tackle the next level, and that every expert was a beginner once. I thumbtacked that screwed up bezel to my inspiration board in my studio, even though it was sterling silver. It stayed there as as reminder to stay humble....and do the work."

Francesca has done the work....and the soft opening of her new gallery/teaching studio is coming right up!

" A few years ago, I needed a hobby. I had retired, and found that I had too much time on my hands. I tried a number of things, but none kept my interest. Over the years, I'd gathered craft supplies from yard and thrift sales for that 'someday' when I would have time to learn. In that box I found a book for children entitled, HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY, along with a few beads and findings. I searched my husband's work shop for a few tools, and I started with page one. My first creation was a pair of earrings, and I still wear them. I found more than a hobby, I found a creative passion."

Here are those earrings:

The best thing you can do if you want to make jewelry is simply BEGIN. Start simple, and build a foundation of knowledge. Stick with a technique until it feels second-nature. Build a body of work, even if it is simple.

Continue to explore online groups, Pinterest and publications for inspiration and new ideas. If possible, try not to learn by copying. Some folks learn best that way, so if you must copy, copy once for the learning experience, but a copied piece is not for sale....it's for the learning.

From that piece take it to the next level and build on the technique, making it your own.

There is so much more to say on the subject and I'm sure our Design Team will be happy to share it, as time goes on!

YOU may feel free to comment here, about your own journey and how YOU started. It may prove to be encouraging to someone else.

January 09, 2014

Got these in the mail today......and was just opening them, when I heard from one of the members of the new B'sue Boutiques Design Team.

She'd taken it upon herself to do a bit of research with the customer service departments of both Budweiser and Miller-Coors, leading producers of.....what else? BEER.

Evidently since my beerings video a few have wondered aloud if there could be copyright infringement issues for makers of jewelry, if they used found items like beer caps. (Actually...the makers call them 'crowns'.)

Both companies deferred to their legal departments and both said, USE 'EM! It's great advertising for US.

The only problem they would have is if you copied the logo and used it to make your own caps or crowns to bottle bogus beer. In that case, it's a big no-no that will get you in hot water.

So make beerings and beer jewelry freely!

I made some today:

This is a sweet little set of beerings and matching pendant that I made for my pal, Beanzie of The Vintage Heart (find her at both Ruby Lane and Etsy).

The caps with the B's on them are from Brooklyn Ale, that's something made in her neck of the woods and enjoyed by many. I'd never seen them before.

Of course, there are enough left to make some for ME!

And now....the cat's out of the bag. Beanz knows what is coming in the mail next week.

Brassy, along with seven other artisan designers I highly admire, have consented to be the 'multitude of counselors' I need to help brainstorm products and designs that will help beginning to intermediate jewelry makers be all they can be. The B'sue Boutiques Design Team has been in the works for some time! And we saved it til the first of the year to roll out, and share with you.

My designer friends are:

Brassy Steamington (Kimberlee Turner) https://www.etsy.com/shop/DrBrassysSteampunk Kimberlee is a world-class steampunk artist and personna who is well known in that community. She is a gifted jewelry maker who has a deep appreciation for vintage jewelry and its value, and has been making jewelry for almost 30 years.

Here she is at a show, in full steampunk regalia:

Cindy Cima Edwards http://www.cindycima.com Cindy's may be a familiar name to you if you read the popular jewelry making magazines. She is much-published and was a member of the 2013 ICE RESIN Design Team

Cindy has done a number of tutorials for us and does lovely work:

No team would be complete for me without my cohort in design, Kate Mulligan:

Kate probably knows my line as well as I do, and counsels me often on what she feels works best. When I follow her advice, I'm never steered wrong. Kate will be working with me a lot on video development (ideas for videos) and kits, as well. She'll also be sending us some great tutorials for our Project Ideas pages, soon! These will include her full 'thesis' on all the tricks of etching. You can't have too many etching tuts! And we have the coolest blanks to use to do the job, with more coming in all the time!

Francesca Watson is an emerging metalsmith with a brilliant work ethic and a penchant for meticulous finish work....and a desire to teach!

Her zest for life is shown in her work:

Francesca is going to help me to help you explore some basic metal techniques you can really use....and how we might combine B'sue Boutiques brass with her design aesthetic.

Recently Francesca has opened a gallery and a haven for teaching with a couple of metalsmithing friends. Find it here: Roadhouse Arts She is also a writer for Art Jewelry Elements as well as Artisan Whimsy's Bead Chat Magazine

Michelle Mach is also a name you may recognize, as she has been published in many beading and jewelry arts magazines since she began submitting in 2007---in fact, over 100 times!

Hopefully you have enjoyed and tried some of her easy-peasy jewelry making techniques at B'sue Boutiques

This photo is for rubber stamping on brass stampings.....check it out here:

http://www.bsueboutiques.com/pi_rubber_stampings.shtml

Actually I am hoping SOON to do a video to show you how to do this with things I have on hand, based on Michelle's tutorial.

I am so pleased to have these remarkable ladies on board to help me to help you expand your skill set in 2014. Jewelry making is not hard, you really can begin with very basic tools....

a flush cutters

a good round nose pliers

and a good pair of flat nose pliers

From there, you branch out to paints and patinas, manipulating brass, drilling or punching simple holes.....to maybe pounding some metal on a bench block, using a jeweler's saw, working with wire, drawing a bead on a wire to make your own headpins.

We will brainstorm it for you and then serve it up to you on a silver platter. There will also be more kit ideas and perhaps even a judged challenge, which is different from anything we have ever done before.